It has become a cliche to say that the ideas of empire and imperialism have enjoyed a renaissance in the early years of the 21st century. The main reasons for this are, of course, the global primacy of the United… Continue Reading
Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT) government in Brazil was hit by a devastating political crisis over the summer. The government, which was seen by much of the international anti-neoliberal movement as offering new hope when it was elected three years ago,… Continue Reading
6 June 2005: Bolivian president Carlos Mesa submits his resignation in an attempt to end weeks of crippling protests demanding nationalisation of the country’s natural gas reserves. 7 June: Mass demonstrations continue to paralyse La Paz, cut it off from… Continue Reading
A radical new electoral force emerged in the May general election in Britain. Formed 16 months earlier, Respect—the Unity Coalition recorded some extraordinary results. George Galloway captured the headlines and the imagination as he was elected MP for the east… Continue Reading
At the end of the 1970s ‘People’s Poland’ was racked by crisis as it experienced the largest collapse of production yet seen in any postwar industrial country: GNP fell in 1979 by 2 percent, in 1980 by 8 percent and… Continue Reading
Twenty five years ago the occupation of the shipyards in the Polish city of Gdansk signalled the birth of a mass workers’ movement, soon to be known as Solidarnosc (Solidarity). This was in a country where strikes had been banned… Continue Reading
‘The left is back. The pact between WASG and PDS under the leadership of Gregor Gysi and Oskar Lafontaine has the potential to change the balance of forces in the political system forever.’ (Editorial in the conservative newspaper Welt am… Continue Reading
On 1 June 2005 a large majority of the Dutch electorate rejected the proposed EU constitution. With a 62 percent ‘No’ vote on a 63 percent turnout, the Dutch ‘No’ was even more pronounced than the French ‘No’ two days… Continue Reading
1: A new period The result of the French referendum on 29 May 2005 was immediately greeted in France, but also internationally, as a major political turning point rather than just another election result. The full impact of the shockwave… Continue Reading
This summer saw the clear emergence of another faultline in the world system, alongside those caused by the Bush government’s inability to crush the resistance in Iraq, and the rising wave of revolt in Latin America. The new faultline is… Continue Reading